NCJ Number
93193
Date Published
1983
Length
108 pages
Annotation
Although the Gresham crime prevention project (Ore.) did not result in a significant reduction in residential property crime compared to a control community, comparative decrease was observed in the fear of crime among Gresham residents.
Abstract
The goal of Gresham's crime prevention project was to reduce criminal opportunity through public education, block and group meetings, premise security surveys, a walk-in crime prevention center, crime prevention fairs, and media promotion. The primary objective of the project was to reduce residential and commercial burglary. The program evaluation consisted of a pre-/post-victimization survey in Gresham and the control community of Milwaukie. Gresham and Milwaukie had comparable social and victimization characteristics prior to the implementation of the crime prevention project. The major objectives of the surveys were to measure the rate of victimization for burglary, larceny, robbery, assaults, rape, auto theft, and vandalism; measure community knowledge and use of crime prevention precautions; and to test the survey results in comparison with a control city to determine the effect of the crime prevention program in Gresham. Although the program was found to be partially, if not wholly, responsible for the significant gains in several crime prevention activities, this improvement was not sufficient to reduce criminal victimization. The program was successful in motivating a greater percentage of people to keep their house doors and windows locked, as well as their parked cars more often; however, no significant gains were achieved in the proportion of citizens who engraved their valuable property and who applied antiburglary warning decals. Only three Neighborhood Watch groups were formed as a result of the program. Despite the many home security surveys conducted, participants failed to comply with most of the suggestions because of the expense involved in implementing the recommendations. The most positive finding from the surveys was a significant decrease in the percentage of persons in Gresham who felt that they would be victims of crime during the next year. Suggestions are offered for increasing citizen participation in crime prevention efforts. The appendixes discuss the sampling methodology and present the 1979 Gresham questionnaire. Tabular data and 22 bibliographic listings are provided.